Disappointing to see the administration punting on this issue. It is a big one in oncology, and one that could encourage "product hopping" to maintain high prices after decades of blockbuster sales.

My thoughts in this NPR piece:
www.npr.org/sections/sho...

"I think it's more underwhelming than what the president is touting," he says. "I think it's more window dressing than the transformational sort of reforms that are needed to really provide relief to Americans struggling with high prices."

My thoughts in this NPR piece:
www.npr.org/sections/sho...

"I think it's more underwhelming than what the president is touting," he says. "I think it's more window dressing than the transformational sort of reforms that are needed to really provide relief to Americans struggling with high prices."

TrumpRx program promises discounts of 40-85% for Americans buying drugs directly from manufacturers

White House fact sheet says discounts are off list prices

Pfizer’s Xeljanz list price = $6,073/month

40% discount = $3,643/month

@dusetzinas.bsky.social: “How is this a reasonable cash price?”

I have never seen such a blistering rebuke of a President by a federal judge. He is telling us clearly to stand up for our liberty against a dictator. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Amen.

ICYMI last week, reposting this @kff.org analysis from @jcubanski.bsky.social and @tricia-neuman.bsky.social about the reconciliation law's changes to the Medicare negotiation program that are expected to keep prices higher for longer for both Medicare and beneficiaries. www.kff.org/medicare/peo...

Several scientists have received letters from the NIH director disinviting them from their positions on advisory councils that make final decisions on grant funding, I'm told.

In July, I reported that NIH staff were told to select members aligned with Trump administration priorities.

This is stunning. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/s...

Six Justices shockingly conclude that it's likely the Impoundment Control precludes an otherwise valid APA claim to require expenditure of obligated funds. This argument, which turns the ICA on its head, is so absurd that the Trump DOJ itself wisely disclaimed it a month ago. Utterly lawless.

Justice Kagan writes a dissent, joined by Sotomayor and Jackson. The majority has “enabled the presidential usurpation of Congress‘s power of the purse”.

Please consider submitting an application - or nominating great candidates - to join the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics Board of Directors. Our organization is in an exciting time of transition and creativity. Join us in shaping ASLME's future.

aslme.org/nominate-som...

I just realized I accidentally linked the accompanying editorial instead of the paper itself. Correct link below!

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Extensive subsidies that reduce premium costs for millions are set to expire, unless Congress extends them.

Via @reedabelson.bsky.social and @sangerkatz.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/h...

A new paper led by Harvard Health Policy PhD student Ye Shen finds that, in the current policy environment, more than six in ten kids will have been enrolled in Medicaid for some period of time by their 18th birthday; the program is absolutley critical for children.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

A drug that provides near-perfect protection against HIV with shots just twice a year will be made available at $40 per patient annually in low- and middle-income countries, offering new hope for ending the HIV epidemic.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/h...

Sigh, ACIP members asking questions during the meeting that reveal they aren’t aware of the most basic aspects of the Vaccines for Children program, one of the most important implications of their recommendations and votes. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Thought to affect 200 million people globally, schistosomiasis is considered one of the most important parasitic infections worldwide, second only to malaria. Yet it attracts nowhere near the funding or the attention that killers like malaria do.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/h...

The Pitt has plans to tackle stories next season related to federal health care cuts. I've got some ideas in a new column out in @jama.com.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Justice Sotomayor is crystal clear in dissent as to what's happening: "We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low wage job. Rather than stand idly by while our constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent."

The conclusion reached by Judge Burroughs:

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The U.S. spends far more on prescription drugs than other countries — and one reason is that brand-name manufacturers use several strategies to extend market exclusivity beyond key patents and delay generic entry, including obtaining overlapping thickets of patents.

This work was led by Dongzhe Hong, a terrific post-doc in PORTAL, and included a stellar cast of co-investigators: Sean Tu, Reed Beall, Massimiliano Russo, @benro.me, @akesselheim.bsky.social.

Link to paper: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...